Breaking Our Chains: Women, Marxism and the Path to Liberation

by Sally Campbell, Sarah Bates, Judy Cox

Breaking Our Chains is a manifesto for the revolutionary socialist approach to winning women's liberation - it outlines a path to a future free of inequality and all oppression. This book reasserts the Marxist analysis of the roots of women's oppression in class society and the evolving role of the family in shaping women's lives. It recounts the struggles of working class and socialist women across the globe not just for equality but for emancipation; and it incorporates trans and non-binary experiences as part of the same fight. With the far-right on the rise and sexual violence in the spotlight, Breaking Our Chains seeks to understand how socialist theory and practice can meet the challenges we face today.

142 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2026

Reviews

[Rubli Carran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and engaging read, however too short to delve deep into some of the good points. Also a focus on historic revolutionary movements rather than what we need to start doing now to prevent the regression of womens rights. I also wished it talked more about marxist theory etc. But overall good read.

[Theo Redelinghuys Lorente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts with a succinct analysis of the development of the nuclear family from which the rest of the book flourishes from. Successfully addresses several challenges to Marxist analysis of feminism. Is a good short start into the topic